DEP Investigates Coal Slurry Spill in Kanawha County

2/11/2014

Inspectors with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection are on the scene of a coal slurry spill in eastern Kanawha County. A slurry line ruptured at the Kanawha Eagle Prep Plant near Winifrede sometime between midnight and 5:30 a.m. Tuesday sending an unknown quantity of slurry into Fields Creek. Workers at the plant shut down slurry pumps when the leak was discovered. The spill was reported to the DEP by the company at 7:30 a.m.

Containment measures are currently in place along Fields Creek from the plant to its confluence with the Kanawha River. According to a company representative, the facility utilizes a frothing chemical -- Flomin 110-C that contains MCHM. DEP inspectors are sampling the water in several locations along Fields Creek and working to determine the amount of material that was spilled. Samples will be taken to ALS Laboratory in South Charleston for analysis. There are no public water intakes immediately downstream from the spill site.